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“Promises, promises.”
“Gross,” Ezra protested. “Flirt elsewhere.”
“I disagree,” Remi added. “They’re both hot. I’d watch that with avid interest.”
Ezra grumbled something I couldn’t make out and seemed to try to push Remi away, but the fae practitioner clung to him.
“Besides, saving the world deserves a booty call, right?” Remi added. “I’d give Jude’s work a five-star review on Yelp for post-mortem craftsmanship.”
Zhenjun appeared beside us, his dark robes billowing despite the lack of wind. His expression was unreadable as always, but there was something softer in the set of his shoulders. Or maybe that was just exhaustion on even a cosmic scale.
“That was more than acceptable,” he remarked.
“High praise, Just Jon!” Jude said as Beau arrived with more cookies. The witch darted through an ivy arch doorway that appeared seconds before he stepped through and the door faded.
Zhenjun blinked at the cookies. Kevin darted around Beau’s legs to chitter something that sounded more like a complaint, but Zhenjun grabbed half the cookies off the plate, as if keeping them from the raccoon was the primary goal. “You should refuel. There are more tears to fix.”
Jude groaned. “I’m dead on my feet. Literally. An hour ago I was a corpse in a jar. Give a guy a minute to adjust.”
Zhenjun’s lips twitched. Almost a smile as he nibbled at the cookies. “Your corpselike state does not seem to impede your sarcasm, Judy.”
“Sarcasm is the only thing keeping me upright.” Jude squinted at the Marshal. “Also, question. The changeling said I was a ‘child of the xian.’ Immortals? What does that even mean? Are you my deadbeat dad? Because I’ve already got one of those, and he’s currently being detained by a demigod, and I’m not really in the market for another.”
Zhenjun blinked. For a heartbeat, he looked genuinely taken aback. Then his expression smoothed into something that might have been amusement. Might have been offense. Hard to tell with ancient cosmic beings.
“I am not your father,” he said with a tone humorously similar to an old talk show host known for scandal. “Though I understand the confusion. You carry xian blood. Diluted through generations of mortal interference. It is what makes you a Weaver.”
“Immortal?” Jude repeated, rolling the word like he was testing its weight. “That’s why the changeling couldn’t keep me. Why I’m still standing here after unraveling myself twice.”
“Three times,” Zhenjun corrected. “You also sealed a tear as a child. A feat that should have killed you. But you’re obviously not immortal, since you’ve been a corpse in a jar,” Zhenjun said, his tone icy. “Xian blood does not confer true immortality. It extends lifespan. Enhances certain abilities. But you can still be killed. Quite easily, in fact, given your propensity for self-sacrifice.”
“So he’s like a very durable houseplant,” Remi clarified.
“Rude! I will end you,” Jude said, not moving from my arms.
“Not before I get to make the daddy joke I’ve been holding onto for the last ten minutes.”
“Remi—”
“Zhenjun’s the cosmic daddy, Adrian’s the deadbeat, and Angel’s the sugar daddy who actually takes care of you. At this point, ‘Who’s your daddy?’ isn’t a question, it’s a multiple-choice test.”
Ezra snorted. Wade choked on a cookie. Even Victor let out a sound that might have been a laugh.
Jude’s ears went pink. “I hate you. I hate you so much.”
“You love me. I’m the reason you and Angel finally got your heads out of your asses and admitted you’re disgustingly in love.”
“That’s not—that’s not what happened.” Jude pointed at me. “He ghost married me.”
“So I could hear your oh-so-melodic voice filled with snark and sarcasm,” I threw back.
Zhenjun pinched the bridge of his nose. “Are all mortal gatherings this chaotic?”
“Only the ones worth attending,” Jude said.
Sergeant Hanna approached, her glamour a strange glow around her I wasn’t used to seeing. The hounds had vanished, but as she looked over the team, I realized I could sense them lingering, as if waiting to be called.
“Must you create a show?” she asked, waving her hand at the zombies.
